Heber C. Kimball's Blessing of Queen Victoria
Published October 18, 2026 at 6:10 PM
Contributed by
Young Woman's Journal Research
During a visit to London in January 1841, Apostles Heber C. Kimball and Wilford Woodruff witnessed the royal procession of Queen Victoria on her way to open Parliament. When the royal carriage unexpectedly stopped in close proximity to the two men, Heber C. Kimball raised his hand and blessed the Queen. President Woodruff noted that he felt the Lord was in this event. Heber C. Kimball later recounted this incident in a discourse in the old Tabernacle and prophesied additional blessings for the Queen.
Fuller account of this event (as retold in Life of Heber C. Kimball, an apostle : the father and founder of the British mission, by Orson F. Whitney (1888), Chapter XLIII):
On the 26th of January Victoria opened the British Parliament. Apostles Kimball and Woodruff, with Dr. Copeland and several other friends, started out for the purpose of witnessing the royal pageant. Arriving at St. James' Park at 10 a. m., they beheld an immense concourse of people, extending in two unbroken lines from Buckingham Palace to the House of Lords. It was estimated that from three to four hundred thousand people were assembled. Through the courtesy of one of the Queen's life-guards—and no small favor was it on that day—Heber and his party succeeded in getting a place in the front line, past which the grand procession was to move. It was on this occasion that Heber C. Kimball blessed Queen Victoria, with the tradition of which so many of the Saints are familiar. Passing so close to them, and seemingly bowing directly and personally to the Apostles, Heber returned the royal salute with a hearty "God bless you," addressed to the Queen as she passed. Her Majesty of course is not aware of the fact that on that day she received an Apostle's benediction, but no one who has noted in faith the prophetic potency of Heber C. Kimball's words uttered on less occasions, will doubt the efficacy of such a blessing, even on the head of a queen of England.
In Their Own Words
“About a year before his death President Wilford Woodruff related to me, one day in his private office, the details of the incident where Apostle Heber C. Kimball blessed the Queen while on her way to open Parliament, in January, 1841. Brother Woodruff said he and Brother Kimball were in London at the time and went out to see the royal procession as it passed. They secured a good place directly in front of the crowd on the curb of the sidewalk, where they could see everything clearly. He stated that as the royal state carriage, drawn by eight cream-colored horses,came along opposite to where he and Brother Kimball were standing, something about it became detached and compelled a stop in close proximity to the brethren. The Queen and Prince Albert, her husband, were in the carriage bowing to the people. She was so near the brethren that Brother Kimball raised his hand and blessed her. Brother Woodruff thought it a most singular thing and that the Lord was in it. Fifty years ago I heard President Kimball refer to the same incident in a discourse in the old Tabernacle, and he told how he had blessed the Queen on that occasion ; he then went on and blessed her again,saying, “She shall be blessed,” and he then prophesied other blessings for her. — The Young Woman's Journal 19:3”
Sources & References
The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 19 no. 3 (March 1908). L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University digital collections. https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/YWJ/id/15925 (account extracted verbatim from the collection's page-level OCR; research confidence: high) Fuller account: Life of Heber C. Kimball, an apostle : the father and founder of the British mission, by Orson F. Whitney (1888), Chapter XLIII https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/35333/pg35333-images.html
Related Miracles
Similar miracle types and stories from the 1840s.
Miracle of the Week
One remarkable, documented account in your inbox every Monday, drawn from the full archive.